Education Offerings - Open to the Public

A primary mission of the Lorain Harbor Boat Club (LHBC) is boating education. Over a decade ago the club established a 501(c)3 tax-deductible foundation, known as the Lorain Boating Education Foundation (LBEF), to operate and fund our educational offerings. Since then a number of our members have acquired their US Sailing and Powerboat Instructor certifications for both youth and adults. And some of our members have acquired US Coast Guard Captain's licenses. Every year we are working to expand our offerings to our members and the public in general.

LHBC Educational Offerings

FirstSail

The US Sailing "First Sail" program is a nationwide program conducted at the local level to introduce or re-introduce the joys and excitement of sailing to everyone. The program is targeted at adults with varying levels of sailing skill from none to experienced. Groups of up to four per boat take a two hour sail on Lake Erie under the guidance of US Coast Guard captains on sailboats of 25' to 30' with auxiliary power. The First Sail experience is a full immersion trip where you will be asked to participate in the running of the boat. Think of First Sail as your first sailing lesson and your personal voyage of discovery to see if sailing is right for you.

At this time we do not have a firm schedule for offering the First Sail experience. Please contact us if interested.

Adult Learn-to-Sail

The club provides this basic sailing class aimed at adult sailors interested in acquiring skills sufficient to allow them to safely operate their own sailing auxiliary. The class provides basic sailing skills as well as more advanced knowledge such as understanding basic weather, navigation, boat operation under power, docking and many other subjects. We conduct the class in eight session spread over two weeks in the middle of June. The class is divided between classroom "chalk talks" and lots of on-the-water practice time. Those that pass a standard exam provided by US Sailing will be awarded a nationally recognized certificate.

Powerboat Handling for Adults

This USSailing accredited class provides the transfer of skills for comfortably operating a single-prop powerboat. Skills that will be taught includes maneuvering your boat off and back on to a dock, operating the boat in tight quarters, safe fueling and general operation of the craft. Additional skills may include anchoring and aspects of passage making. This is a new course offering in the summer of 2025 and is being conducted for a limited number of students on a single boat. This 8-26 hour course will be conducted over one or two days, depending on the number attending.

Junior Big-Boat Sail Camp

The Junior Big-Boat program is a four-day (one week) sail camp meant for teens from 13 to 17 years old. The camp operates from 8:30AM to 4:30PM Monday-Thursday with Friday reserved as a make up day should the weather not cooperate. The camp includes alternating time in the classroom and on the water learning the skills needed to familiarize each camper with all the major positions on a small keel boat. Since sailboat racing offers a framework for learning all the positions and all the points of sail, the camp works toward running the participants through a series of short races on the last day. The class' on-water experience is facilitated by volunteer certified instructors using 26' open-cockpit sailboats with auxiliary engines. Campers are divided into crews of about 4 per boat so that everyone gets a chance at each position aboard.